Printing surface



(No Model.)

P. BECK.

PRINTING SURFACE.

No. 320.208. Patented June 16, 1885.

FREDERICK BECK, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

PRINTING- SURFACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part'of Letters Patent No. 320,208, dated June 16, 1885. Application filed February 21, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK BECK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county of- New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing Rollers and Blocks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in printing blocks and rollers used for printing cloths, oil-cloths, wall-papers, and other like manufactures. Such rollers and blocks have been'heretofore made with the design raised in relief on the face of the roller or block, it being either carved in relief on the roller or block, or the desired relief being outlined with pieces or strips of brass or copper set edgewise into the body of the roller or block and. projecting above its surfaeeone strip on each side of the relief. Then an impression be ing taken from the upper edges of the pieces of copper or brass, pieces of wood or felt, of the sizes and shapes indicated by the impression, are cut out to conform to the spaces between or inelosed by the strips,which are then carefully and acouratelyeemented into the said inclosed spaces surrounded by the copper or brass strips. The metallic strips are used to laterally sustain and hold in place the wood, felt, or other material, and to protect them from injury under the action of the press. This, as will be seen, is an exceedingly laborious and expensive method of constructing such devices, and my invention relates to an improved method by which they may be made. I apply the metallic strengthening or side sustaining strips by electro-deposition, and thus secure great simplicity and economy in the manufacture of the rollers and blocks and also additional advantages, some of which will be herein stated.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a roller which is supposed to have been cut in two lengthwise, a section taken out of it and spread out flat with the side bearing the design uppermost. Thus this figure represents either a section of a flattened roller or of a block. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the block or flattened section of a roller, as shown 50 in Fig. 1.

Ifirst make the roller or block upon which the relief is to be formed, (seen at A,)which I will hereinafter call the base, out of wood, metal, or other suitable material. I then coat the same with a layer of papier-mach, rubber, wood, felt, the substance known as linerusta, (i. 6., oxidized oil and wood-pulp, flock, or other such substance,) suitable for re ceiving and transmitting the color to the fabric being printed. This coating or layer is seen at B, and I cause it to adhere to the base by any suitable means. The coating or layer B may have a thickness of, say, an eighth of an inch, although it may be more or less, as desired, and upon it I trace or otherwise produce the design which I desire to print from it, and I then cut out from this coating with a sharp knife or other suitable instrument the design which I have traced or otherwise produced on the layer B, thus projecting the de sign in relief, and I so cut out the relief as to let the lateral walls thereof slant somewhat, as seen at 0, from the face or color-receiving outward surface of the relief down to the base, so that when the metal is deposited on the base and on the relief, as hereinafter set forth, this slanting of the sides of the relief will have a dovetailing effect whichwill hold the papier-mach, linerusta, felt, wood, rubber, or other material firmly in its place down upon the base, so that it cannot Work out from between the metallic walls hereinafter explained, or be pulled out therefrom by reason of an adhesion between its printingface and the material being printed. After the design has been cut out all around the base, as stated, or while said operation is being performed, if desired, I remove all of the materiali. e., the papier-mach, lincrusta, felt, wood, rubber, or other like substanee except that which is to compose the relief. This should be done thoroughly and clean quite down to the surface of the base. I then coat the exposed surface of the base and the inclined sides and the face of the relief with plumbago or other substance having the capacity to receive metals by electro-deposition, and when thoroughly coated with the plumbago I submerge the entire base and the design upon it in the solution ofanysuitable apmach, 'lincrusta, felt, wood, rubber, or other material in the same manner as the metal or blocks as now made. After sufficient metal has been deposited, as above stated, I remove the base from the solution, and grind off or otherwise remove the metal which has been deposited upon the outer surface of the relief, seen at b, and continue the grinding until .all' the metal has been removed from its outer sur face, thus exposing a perfectly smooth and flush face from which to print. the deposited metal will then be flush with the surface of' the papier-mach, lincrusta, wood, felt, rubber, or other material, and there will be a continuous unbroken sheet-or coating of metal extending over the entire surface of the base and up both sides of every projecting surface of the relief. Thus the relief will be sustained laterally while in use, and because of the dovetailing or inclination of its walls the metal will hold it down firmly upon the base. I

In order to prevent any tendency in the metal to slip on the base if it be of .wood or other material to which the metal will not firmly adhere, small pins may be driven through the metal here and them into the base in the recesses a-betwecn the elevations of the relief.

Instead of coating the printing-face of the relief with plumbago as well as its sides, and

thus depositing metal on the printing-face as well as on the sides of the relief, which has to be subsequently ground offagain, I sometimes omit the plumbago from the printing-face, or after it has been applied thereto I prevent deposition of metal thereon by covering the same with varnish or other suitable resist, which will prevent the metal from being deposited on such face,thus the subsequent grinding down to a surface from which to print will be more easily and rapidly done; also for some kinds of printing the ink works better from a protected by the metaldepositedupon it, and

thus suffer no injury by reason of theink com- The edges of plates or blocks as well as to rollers, and-the poses set forth.

ing,in contact with it, which frequently causes wooden bases to split, I apply the plumbago also to the ends or edges of the base, as the case may be, thus the metal will be deposited on them, as well as on the other parts of the base and onthe relief, andthe entire surface of the device will be incased'in the metal and protected by it. I strips sustain the like materials in the rollers 1 Bases which are used for printing carpets, certain woolen goods, and the like manufactures are made with the design sunken into the face thereof, not in relief. Such bases are alsomade by me, the above process being simply reversed-z; 6., the design is out out and removed from the layer or coatingB so that it is sunken therein instead of being left in relief thereon.

My invention, as stated, is applicable to flat word base in the claims I intend shall cover either the,roller or the block. I

I do not abandon that part of my invention which is herein set forth consisting in covering all partsof the roller or block, and also the entire design, its printingsurface as well as its sides, with metal, since I propose tofile afurther application therefor. v

Having thus described my invention, I claimj V l 1. As a new article of manufacture, a printing rolleror block having the designto be printed projected in relief thereon, the sides whereof are sustained by a seamless piece of metal entirely covering the roller or block and all parts of the relief excepting the printingface thereof, substantially asand forthe-pur- 2. Asa new article of manufacture, aprinting roller or block the design whereof isin relief, and is sustained laterally by a metallic plate, which rests upon but is not embedded in the roller or block itself, substantiallyas and for the purposes set. forth. j 3. As a new article of manufacture, aprint ing block or roller in which all theparts of the block or roller-and of the relief thereon, ex- 1 and for the purposes set-forth.

4. As a newarticle ,of manufacture, aprinting roller or block, wherein a composition of oxidized oil and wood pulp or other pulp or flock-like substance isemployed in-which the desiredrelief is formed, substantially asand for the purposes set 'forth.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 19th day of February, A. D. 1884:.

' FR. Witnesses:

J OHN J. OAULDWEL PHILLIPS ABBOTT,, 

